Workshops

The Research Whisperers are often invited to give talks and workshops.

We’re providing the following information to assist with your planning. We’d prefer to commit to events at least 6 months beforehand. You can see the kinds of events we’ve participated in previously at the RW Live page.

As a rule, we would expect all travel expenses to be covered if the event is not at our home institutions. Whether we charge a speaking/workshop fee is highly dependent on the organisation that’s inviting us, and the type of speaking engagement requested.

For researchers from our home institutions, please contact us directly or browse what we already offer through our units:

APPLYING for GRANTS

5 Rules of Grant Club: Tseen Khoo

Being grants-savvy isn’t an option anymore. It’s an essential and transferable skill for contemporary researchers. The good news is that grant application writing is a trainable skill! This hands-on, interactive workshop shares strategies for how to get a head-start on negotiating the world of research grants. It gives you the inside story on finding funding, approaches to grant writing, how to avoid the most common grant application mistakes, save yourself time, and build research collaborations that last. It includes pointers for compiling a research grant budget and thinking about project planning and feasibility.

By the end of this workshop, researchers will have a clear idea of how to proceed with finding funding for their project and a sketched outline of key grant application components.

Finding funding: Jonathan O’Donnell

Quick! How many funding schemes can you name?

A lot of researchers find it hard to think about any funding except ARC funding. If this is you, you need to get your thinking cap on. There is a whole world of funding out there, and you shouldn’t be overly reliant on any one source. This workshop is intended to help you to think outside the box, and to find more sustainable sources of funding.

By the end of the workshop, you should have a lot of new ideas about funding possibilities that you can explore, as well as a typology of funding schemes that works for you.

Audience: Works best with a mix of early and mid-career researchers. Doesn’t work if all the attendees are PhD students.

Duration: Either one hour lecture or a half-day (four hour) workshop.

Numbers:

Lecture – No minimum. Unlimited maximum.

Workshop – Minimum of five and maximum of 25 attendees.

Technical requirements: Data projector, computer, and internet connection. Yellow stickies (about 20 each) for each attendee. A few pens for those who didn’t bring one. A whiteboard or wall space where people can stick up their sticky notes.

Grant Camp: Jonathan O’Donnell

Can you draft your grant application in four hours? Absolutely you can, if you focus on writing and ignore everything else. Through a series of half-hour writing sprints, Jonathan O’Donnell will guide you through the key parts of your research funding application. Together, you will bash out a very rough draft of the application. It won’t be pretty, but it will give you something that you can refine and rewrite – this workshop is all about getting the first draft down on paper. If you have already started drafting your application, this will give you a chance to refine your work.

By the end of the workshop, you should have broken the back of your application, and have a very rough draft.

Audience: Academics who need time to write their grant application.

Duration: Half-day (four hour) workshop.

Numbers: No minimum. Maximum of 20 academics.

Technical requirements: Data projector, computer, and internet connection. Attendees should have access to laptops, wi-fi, power and space to set up.

Research crowdfunding: Jonathan O’Donnell

Crowdfunding provides a completely new model for funding research. It allows new people to access funds, and new ideas to be funded. Best of all, it provides researchers with a crash course in social media, public engagement and the fine art of asking for funding.

By the end of this workshop, academics will have a better understanding of what they can and cannot achieve through crowdfunding, and what support they might need to undertake a campaign.

Audience: Adventurous academics who what to build an audience for their work.

Duration: 1 hour lecture or half-day workshop.

Numbers: No minimum. Maximum of 25 people for half-day workshop.

Technical requirements: Data projector, computer, and internet connection. In addition, for the half-day workshop, attendees should have access to laptops, wi-fi, power and cafe-style desk space.

ENGAGEMENT and COMMUNITY-BUILDING

Academic networking for introverts: Tseen Khoo

Good networks in academia are proven to lead to more successful research collaborations, more career opportunities, and better profile for your work. You know how important it is to build these in your professional life. But what happens when none of the traditional ways of networking appeal to you? In fact, what if those modes actively put you off getting out there and doing any networking at all? This talk addresses the different ways that networking can happen and offers practical strategies to do so. It’s ideal for those of you who hear the word ‘networking’ and cringe.

Audience: Researchers at any level wanting different ways to network

Duration: 1.5 hours

Numbers: No minimum. Unlimited.

Preferred set-up: Data projector, computer, and internet connection.

Researchers and social media: Tseen Khoo or Jonathan O’Donnell

It’s a no brainer, really. If you are an academic, social media is for you.

Being savvy with social media is a desired (and increasingly expected) aspect of research engagement, research profile building, and recruiting for research. Using social media effectively can increase your citations, and lead to approaches from media, industry, and potential collaborators.

This session will inform researchers of key ways to ensure their profile and research is easily found and as accessible as possible. The workshop version offers a high level of hands-on support and interactive exercises during the event.

Audience: Researchers wanting to know how social media can benefit them

Simple ways to build your network: Jonathan O’Donnell or Tseen Khoo

There are good, broadly appealing structured ways to build effective networks without the need for significant funds or time. This workshop will take you through some of our favourite techniques and experiences for community building, often developed around communities of practice and growing research networks: Shut Up and Write; Whispercon; Grant Camp; Academic Writing Month; Conference networking; Personal Learning Networks; and convening a research network.

By the end of the workshop, academics and administrators will have practical strategies and a plan for building their own or cohort networks.

Audience: Academics and administrators who want to build collegial communities.

Duration: 2 hours

Numbers: No minimum. Maximum of 30 attendees.

Technical requirements: Data projector, computer, and internet connection. Attendees should have access to laptops, wi-fi, power and space to set up.

What is The Research Whisperer?

The Research Whisperer is dedicated to the topic of doing research in academia. We talk about finding funding, research culture, and building academic track-records.

This blog is managed by Jonathan O'Donnell (@jod999) and Tseen Khoo (@tseenster).

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